The efficient and cost effective disposal of water contaminated with oil-based or other materials having a different specific than water presents well-known and long-standing problems. Oil, gasoline, antifreeze and the like naturally separate from water under the effects of gravity and accumulate on the surface of the water where it can be easily removed. This natural separation process is too slow to accommodate the treatment of large volumes of contaminated water unless very large settling tanks or ponds are used. The costs attendant to such large scale settling tanks make them impractical for use in most applications.
Many different systems have been devised to clean water by removing and retaining oil, thereby allowing the relatively clean water to be discharged in an environmentally safe manner. Most oil-water separators attempt to enhance or increase the rate at which oil naturally separates from water and collects on the surface of the water. Many of these oil-water separators are complex, expensive to construct and not well suited for use in varying applications and locations.
There continues to be a need for a gravity-based oil-water separator that is inexpensive to construct and operate and still effective in treating relatively large volumes of contaminated water. There is a particular need for a portable oil-water separator that is, therefore, useable in a variety of applications in diverse locations.